Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

Charlie is this one still around?  I might order one if it has a nice bush.  I like the splashy brown/gold colors along with the red.  It matches my shower curtain too.  lol



p.s.--  A relative of Cranberry Muffin perhaps?

Oh yes, Muffin Man is still around. I'm using it as a parent some this year. It is one of those very good bloomers with mid-size flowers. Good bush, too. Usually has to be grafted so fewer around than should be.

Charlie

*raises hand* Graft request!  One of these days when you have time.

OK, you got it! I am looking forward to things slowing down so I can spend more time grafting.

Charlie

Thanks, Charlie!  Does MM make a good pod parent, or have you been using it for pollen?

Muffin Man works both ways. Today I harvested a pod that was Muffin Man x Mountain Air, a rather plain lavender color but fairly large with well formed ruffles and tufts. Muffin Man has great color but is a smaller though perfectly shaped bloom with only smaller ruffles and tufts. If an offspring gets the best of both worlds I would be thrilled!

Charlie

are the parents of this CV known ?

Yes, the parents were Milree Park (Austr. cv) x Evelyn Howard. Evelyn Howard is a large flower and Milree Park has an excellent bush with good flower form.

I have several old Muffin Man bushes that have survived a lot and still keep on going. One is huge for a potted plant - standing 6 feet high and well branched.

Charlie

Super lucky and managed this one today, has it proved a good parent for you Charlie?

Chris, the potential of Muffin Man as a parent has not been fully explored. It has great potential coming from parents Milree Park x Evelyn Howard. Although MMan is only a 5 inch bloom its parent Evelyn Howard is a full 8 incher. The yellow spots on Muffin Man are fairly rare in the brown/blue flowers and it does tend to pass them on. I've had several interesting seedlings using MMan but there are a lot of crosses that could be made with it that I have not made. I'll show Muffin Man and a few of the seedlings below. Braveheart and Dr. Strangelove are 2 offspring of MMan that are currently being grown for sale.

The Muffin Man photo was taken in TX and shows the increase in yellow that comes with more heat.

Charlie

All of the Muffin Man seedlings shown are very handsome indeed, but I really love the last one (10-0961 Cosmic Gold x Muffin Man). I remember another post where this seedling was shown/discussed, and proposing the name "Cosmic Muffin" (ha, ha)... I hope it roots well, because I am definitely hoping to add it to my (hibiscus) herd someday!  :D

Thanks Charlie,

I am really glad that muffin man passes such fancy looking blooms with spotting to its offspring.  That last one sure is nice, how big is the bloom?

Chris, as best as I can recall it was a 6 inch bloom. Cosmic Gold tends to pass large size on, Muffin Man tends to make them smaller, so........... we shall see.

Charlie

Dang, that seedling is a good candidate to hopefully pass spotting and interesting color along with large bloom size. 

Two thumbs up on this one!  I crossed them both to Island Girl :)

Huge Variation on two blooms, in the 5 inch range, but with patterns like that who cares about size!

Chris, sooo cool!  Charlie, that last one is awesome!

Chris, that first Muffin Man photo is amazing. You got both the markings and intense color. Very nice.

Charlie

WOOWWW...  great colors, Chris!

Muffin Man is one of my all time favorites.  It can show many different looks and each one is fantastic.  I just ordered Braveheart, so I am hoping I see alot of Muffin Man's positive qualities in this CV. 

That's amazing that all of these pics are the same CV?  Wow.